A severance package lawyer in Vaughan reviews your termination offer, calculates the compensation you are legally owed and negotiates for more when your employer’s package falls short.
If you were fired without cause, your employer must provide proper notice or compensation. The amount in your termination letter is not automatically your full entitlement. Many non-unionized employees are owed substantially more than Ontario’s minimum employment standards.
Before you sign a severance agreement or release, have the package reviewed along with your employment contract, salary, bonuses, commissions, benefits and other compensation.
On This Page:
- 1. When to Call a Severance Lawyer
- 2. How Much Severance Are You Owed?
- 3. What Should Be Reviewed?
- 4. Can You Negotiate Severance?
- 5. How Your Employment Contract Matters
- 6. What to Do After Getting an Offer
- 7. Why Choose Samfiru Tumarkin LLP?
When Should You Call a Severance Package Lawyer in Vaughan?
You should speak with a severance package lawyer before accepting your employer’s offer or signing a release.
A review is especially important if:
- Your employer offered only a few weeks of pay
- You were told the package is “standard” or “final”
- You are an older or long-service employee
- You earned bonuses, commissions, benefits or other compensation
- Your employer says your contract limits your severance
- You were given only a few days to sign
- You were fired for cause and offered little or nothing
You don’t need to wait until you are in a legal dispute. The best time to review a severance package is before you give up the right to challenge it.
How Much Severance Are You Owed in Vaughan?
Your severance is not automatically one week per year of service, and Ontario’s employment-standards minimums are not necessarily your full entitlement.
Many non-unionized employees have greater rights under common law. Your severance can depend on factors including:
- Your age
- Your length of service
- Your position and responsibilities
- The availability of comparable employment
- Your employment contract
- Your complete compensation package
Depending on factors such as age, position, length of service and the availability of similar employment, common-law severance can reach 24 months’ pay.
Your package can also include more than base salary. Bonuses, commissions, benefits and other regular compensation can form part of what you are owed.
For a complete breakdown of the different entitlements, read our guide to severance pay in Ontario.
Is severance pay different from a severance package?
Yes. Employees often use “severance” to describe their entire termination package, while Ontario’s Employment Standards Act uses “severance pay” for a specific statutory entitlement.
A termination package can involve statutory termination pay, statutory severance pay where applicable and greater common-law compensation.
That is why you should evaluate the entire package rather than focusing on whether one line is labelled “severance pay.”
What Should a Severance Package Lawyer Review?
A proper severance review looks at the entire employment relationship—not simply the number of weeks offered in your termination letter.
Your employment contract
Your employment contract can have a major effect on your severance. A valid termination clause can limit common-law rights, while an unenforceable clause can leave you entitled to significantly more compensation.
Your complete compensation
Depending on your employment terms, a proper severance calculation can involve:
- Salary or regular wages
- Bonuses
- Commissions
- Benefits
- Pension or RRSP contributions
- Equity or stock-based compensation
- Other regular compensation or allowances
The release
Most enhanced severance packages require you to sign a release giving up legal claims against the employer. The release and any confidentiality, non-disparagement or other conditions should be reviewed before you agree.
Why your employment ended
The circumstances of the termination can create additional rights. A firing connected to disability, pregnancy, protected leave, discrimination or reprisal can involve more than an ordinary severance claim.
Can You Negotiate a Severance Package in Vaughan?
Yes. Your employer’s first severance offer does not determine your legal entitlement.
If the offer is too low, a lawyer can identify what is missing, explain the legal basis for additional compensation and negotiate directly with the employer or its lawyers.
The goal is not simply to ask for more money. A strong negotiation starts by determining what your case is actually worth.
Learn more about how to negotiate a severance package in Ontario.
What if your employer says the offer is non-negotiable?
Calling a severance package “non-negotiable” does not reduce your legal entitlement.
If the package falls short, the employer’s refusal to voluntarily increase it does not make the offer correct. Your next step depends on the value of the claim and the legal issues affecting your entitlement.
How Does Your Employment Contract Affect Severance?
Your employment contract can significantly affect your severance if it contains an enforceable termination clause.
Employers frequently rely on termination clauses to limit employees to Ontario’s minimum employment standards.
But a clause is not automatically enforceable just because you signed it. Ontario courts closely scrutinize termination language, and an unenforceable clause can leave you with much greater common-law rights.
Read more about employment contracts in Ontario if your employer is relying on your agreement to limit the package.
What Should You Do After Receiving a Severance Package?
Take the documents home, don’t sign the release and determine your full entitlement before responding.
After you receive a severance offer:
- Keep the complete package. Save the termination letter, offer, release and attachments.
- Find your employment contract. Keep older agreements too if your terms changed over time.
- Collect compensation records. Gather pay statements, bonus plans, commission agreements and benefits information.
- Apply for EI promptly. You do not need to wait for a severance negotiation to finish.
- Start looking for comparable work. Employees pursuing common-law damages are expected to make reasonable efforts to mitigate their losses.
- Have the package reviewed before signing.
What if the severance package is too low?
If your employer did not provide the notice or compensation you are legally owed, you can have a wrongful dismissal claim.
An employer can legally terminate most non-unionized employees without cause. What it cannot do is end the relationship without providing the compensation required by law.
Learn more about wrongful dismissal in Ontario.
Why Choose Samfiru Tumarkin LLP for a Severance Package Review?
Samfiru Tumarkin LLP’s employment lawyers in Vaughan help non-unionized employees understand, negotiate and improve severance packages.
Our employment-law team regularly handles termination, severance, wrongful dismissal and employment-contract disputes for employees at every level—from hourly and salaried workers to managers and senior executives.
Our role is straightforward: determine what you are owed, explain your options clearly and pursue the compensation you are entitled to receive.
Severance Package Lawyer Vaughan: Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a lawyer to review my severance package?
You are not legally required to hire a lawyer, but you should know your full entitlement before signing a release. A lawyer can determine whether your contract, compensation and common-law rights make the package worth more than the employer offered.
Is severance one week per year worked?
No. There is no one-week-per-year formula for common-law severance in Ontario. Your age, length of service, position and the availability of similar work are among the important factors.
Can severance reach 24 months?
Yes. Common-law severance can reach 24 months’ pay in appropriate cases. Your individual circumstances and any enforceable employment contract determine the actual amount.
Do I have to meet my employer’s signing deadline?
No. A short employer-imposed signing deadline does not erase your legal rights. Ask for time to review the package and don’t sign a release before understanding what you are owed.
What if I was fired for cause?
Don’t assume you are owed nothing simply because your employer alleges cause. If the employer can’t establish the legal threshold required to deny compensation, you can still have substantial severance rights.
Speak With a Severance Package Lawyer in Vaughan
Your employer prepared the severance offer. That does not mean the amount represents everything you are legally owed.
If you are a non-unionized employee who has received a severance package in Vaughan, Samfiru Tumarkin LLP can review your termination, calculate your full entitlement and negotiate for additional compensation when the package falls short.
Before you sign the release, find out what your employment is actually worth.